Meet the Officer – Major Cheryl Butcher

1. What is your current appointment, and what do you find most satisfying about it?

My husband Russell and I are currently the Corps Officers at the Bairnsdale Corps in East Gippsland, Victoria. Bairnsdale is a beautiful part of Victoria with the Mitchell River running through it and a number of other rivers and lakes in the area. It is also only a short drive to the coast, where you can sit and watch the waves roll in.

What is most satisfying is a hard question, but I think that one of the most satisfying things is broadening our connection with our community. Our Thrift Shop has recently transitioned to a Salvos Store and moved to a new location, which has left us with a large space one street back from the main street of Bairnsdale. We have moved our Community Connect/Doorways service into this space. This makes us a lot more accessible to our community than when we were operating out of our hall, which is further from the centre of town and harder to get to.

This change, which only took place on 15 September , has worked really well so far as we now have community people popping in for a chat and a cuppa as they walk past our shop front, as well as those who need assistance coming in. The extra space we have is enabling us to set up refreshment stations, comfortable places for people to sit and relax, tables to share a cuppa and a toastie, and a safe space where people are welcomed in.

It is incredibly satisfying to be able to walk alongside people, help out where we can, and to have people offer us their support and ideas as to different ways we can use our new expanded space.

2. Away from the appointment – if that’s possible! – what do you do to relax or unwind? 

I love just sitting and reading a book to unwind – usually a murder mystery. I don’t know why they relax me, but they do. Also, we are so fortunate to be close to a number of rivers and the coast, so that I can just go and sit and watch the water. That always brings me a feeling of peace and calms me.

My husband and I have become LEGO addicts, and I find that concentrating on the building of different models helps me to focus on something other than the things going on in my appointment, which brings some downtime and helps with focus. When the opportunity presents itself, spending time with our adult sons and other family members who live a few hours away is also wonderful.

3. What’s a favourite Christian song and why do you like it? 

There are so many songs that I love, and my favourite probably changes depending on the things I am experiencing during the different stages of my life.

In the last few years, we’ve had some pretty tough situations that we have had to deal with and during one of those times, I came across the song Do It Again by Elevation Worship and the lines:

Your promise still stands Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness I'm still in Your hands This is my confidence, You never failed me yet, speak to me all the time.

This song always brings me back to the knowledge that God is always working, always involved, always with me, and I can have confidence that He will make the way and resolve the situation in His time and in His way. All I have to do is stay close to Him.

4. If you could have a good talk with a biblical character apart from Jesus, who would it be and what would you talk about? 

I have been doing a sermon series on Daniel, so he is the person my mind immediately went to – a man who held on to his faith and his convictions even in the face of death. I would like to hear his story in his own words. I would love to know what went on in that lion’s den, how did God close the mouths of the lions, how did he sleep surrounded by lions, how could he speak so calmly the next morning to the king even before he was released?

I would like to speak with him about his prayer life, about his commitment to his faith, even when he was so far away from his home, his absolute assurance that no matter what happened, God was with him. I want to be the person who knows that, no matter what, I am held in God’s hands and I can have the confidence to do what He requires of me.

5. If you were talking to a group of Salvationists and they asked if you recommended officership or not, what would you say? 

Officership is a calling, and if you feel that God is calling you to officership, then I would say jump right in. Doing what you know God is calling you to do is amazing. It’s not always easy, and there are times you might wish that you were doing something else, but knowing that you are walking the path God has called you to is so important. Officership is frustrating; it can be painful at times, but more often than not, it is so fulfilling. You get to do things you probably never thought you would be doing, and you get to walk alongside incredible people.

Every one of us is called to ministry in some form or another, and if for you that is officership, then just step out in faith knowing that God is always with you.